Tom Nichols

He scored his first goal of the season in his fourth appearance, with a 77th-minute equaliser in a 2–2 draw at home to Bury after coming on as a substitute.

On his first start of the season in the following match on 14 December, he scored a brace in the first 11 minutes of a 3–2 win away to Accrington Stanley.

Tom Andrew Nichols (born 28 August 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for League Two club Mansfield Town.

Having come through Exeter City's academy, Nichols made his first-team debut for the club in May 2011.

Whilst at Exeter City, he had loan spells at Dorchester Town, Hereford United and Bath City before establishing himself as a first team player in League Two.

He signed his first professional contract in April 2011, aged 17.

He made his professional debut on 7 May 2011, coming on as a half-time substitute for Bertrand Cozic in a 2–1 League One victory away to Sheffield Wednesday in the final match of the 2010–11 season.

Nichols made his first appearance of the 2011–12 season as a 76th-minute substitute in a 2–0 League Cup win at home to Yeovil Town.

He scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 victory against Chesterfield at St James Park on 27 August 2011, the eve of his 18th birthday.

Nichols also made 12 appearances for Exeter City across the 2011–12 season, scoring one goal, as the club were relegated to League Two after finishing 23rd.

On 7 January 2012, it was announced that Nichols had joined Conference South side Dorchester Town on a one-month loan.

He made his debut for Dorchester Town that same day in a 3–0 win over Thurrock, with Nichols scoring his first goal for the club after coming on as a substitute.

In response to Nichols' debut appearance, Dorchester Town manager Alan Knight stated: "It was an encouraging performance and it was nice that he got his goal."

After scoring three goals in three games for Dorchester Town, his loan was extended by a further month in February 2012.

He returned to Exeter City in April 2012, having made 12 appearances and scored nine goals for the Magpies during his loan at the club.

In August 2012, Nichols joined Conference side Hereford United on a one-month loan deal, stating that he was 'pleasantly surprised' that Hereford wanted to sign him.

He made his debut for the Bulls on 10 August 2012 against Macclesfield Town after coming on as a substitute.

He scored his first goal for the club on 18 August 2012 in a 3–0 win away to Alfreton Town.

His loan deal was extended for a further month in September 2012, though Nichols was recalled from his loan later that month by his parent club.

He made nine appearances and scored one goal for the Bulls.

He made his first Exeter appearance of the season as a substitute in a 3–2 home league victory over Wycombe Wanderers on 18 September 2012.

In November 2012, Nichols joined Conference South side Bath City on a one-month loan.

Nichols also made three appearances without scoring for Exeter City across the 2012–13 season.

After making his debut for Bath City on 1 December in a 2–2 draw with Eastbourne Borough, he made seven appearances and scored one goal for the city, prior to being recalled by Exeter City on 25 January 2013.

In March 2013, Nichols re-joined Conference South side Dorchester Town on loan, where he made five appearances and scored one goal.

At the end of the season, he was offered a new contract with Exeter City for the 2013–14 season, which he signed in July 2013.

Nichols' first appearance of the 2013–14 season came on 2 November 2013 as an 83rd-minute substitute in a 3–2 defeat away to Portsmouth.

After scoring his fourth goal of December from 25 yards in a 3–1 victory over Torquay United, Nichols was nominated for the League Two Player of the Month award for December 2013, but lost out to Deon Burton of Scunthorpe United.

He went on to make 29 appearances and score six goals during the 2013–14 League Two season, finishing the season as City's joint top goalscorer alongside Scot Bennett.

Nichols scored the opening goal of Exeter's 2014–15 season with a 27th-minute volley in a 1–1 draw at home to Portsmouth on 9 August, but did not score again for Exeter until 26 October when he scored their second goal of a 2–0 victory away to Morecambe.

He then scored five goals in his following four league matches across November 2014, leading to his nomination for the League Two Player of the Month award for that month, though it was instead given to David Worrall of Southend United.

Nichols received a straight red card for kicking out at an opponent in Exeter's 1–1 draw at home to Morecambe on 28 March 2015, resulting in a three-match ban.

He finished the season as the club's leading goalscorer with 15 goals in 39 appearances for the Grecians.

He joined Peterborough United of League One on a four-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee on 1 February 2016, but joined Bristol Rovers on a three-year contract in summer 2017.

Following a loan spell at Cheltenham Town in the second half of the 2019–20 season, he was released by Bristol Rovers at the end of his three-year contract in summer 2020, and subsequently signed for League Two side Crawley Town on a one-year contract.

He joined Gillingham in January 2023.

Nichols was born in Wellington and attended Court Fields School.

His father ran the King's Arms pub in Wellington.

He supported Sunderland as a child.

Nichols joined Exeter City from local club Twyford Spartans as a youth at the under-11 age group.